It has been a very busy several weeks on the farm. Between canning and answering emails for intern requests, my days have been pleasantly full. 🙂

As most of you may know, from August 1-15, we were accepting emailed interests for next summer’s intern team. On Monday, we officially announced our next full time apprentices, chosen from the team we currently have on farm.

Here is a picture of them. We couldn’t be more thrilled.

left to right: Ben Ward, Heather Makoski, Jonathan Hale

The whole team this year has been amazing. We have been truly blessed with an absolutely amazing group of young and not-so-young farmers.

In honor of the “intern & apprentice selection season”, I’m going to open the floor for some questions about our intern programs.

There are some things that we keep to ourselves, (i.e. our questionnaire) and some things that I’m sure I won’t know the answer to, but I’ll do my best.

What questions or comments do you have? Any messages you would like passed on to these folks?

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About Sheri Salatin

Sheri is married to Daniel Salatin. She is the marketing director at Polyface Farm and stay-at-home mom of three children. Sheri is passionate about clean food and is enjoying working the land along side her husband. When not farming, Sheri can be found reading, writing, sewing, baking and serving in her church family.

Polyface is now extremely well known, and I imagine you have no trouble finding interested potentential interns. For newer, lesser known farms (or back in the day when Polyface was unknown!) what is an efficient way to find interns?

Also, I understand that Polyface provides room and board (and of course an amazing education)…what do you expect in return from your interns?

And finally (sorry, I have a lot of questions!) what are the MOST important qualities you seek in an intern, and how do you determine whether a potential intern has those qualities?

No age limits but could one bring his wife and 3 young daughters along also? I understand not for the intern, but if that intern earned the chance for the year long apprenticeship? We are all wanting to experience this!

Stressful. 🙂 No, really we are all adjusting. They are all exhausted because everything is new. There is lots of patience doled out on every side. Lots of standing around, watching us do the work. Lots and lots of communication of expectations and correct way of doing things. 🙂

I would just like to comment that it is truly wonderful to see young people who want to change the course of American eating. Nothing is more important than the food we eat. The more young people that get involved in this crusade, the better. They will instruct their friends and children and families for future generations to come. Good luck in all you do!

Hi fine folks. We met many of you at one of the Polyface Intensive Discovery Seminars. Your spirit, enthusiasm, desire to work and do and be in the world is infectious. Now that you’ve graduated from one of the most respected schools in the country, and if you are looking for a farm opportunity that you can write yourself in a beautiful little enclave in central North Carolina re-writing itself, with food as its central tenant, please get in touch with us. We raise broilers, dairy cows, sheep, pigs, laying hens and turkeys on about 100 acres in and around a mill town in the middle of a complete and organic revitalization and partner with two farm-to-table restaurants across the road from the farm. Opportunities in addition to a farm management position include whole-animal butchery, charcuterie, market gardening, commercial-scale food perservation, traditional-style baking, market flower production, craft brewing, large-scale composting, retail merchandising of local and artisinal goods, and restaurant food preperation and line cooking food with integrity. Compose your own opportunity and come visit us. Google “Saxapahaw” to get some flavor. info@cozifarms.com

This is probably off topic, but I hope the ones chosen for apprenticeships appreciate the importance of what they are going to learn hands-on that is. Some time back Joel was slammed by the Vegan Industry for his methods for which there is no comparison to hideous science-based Industrial farming. In the article cited, the well known Vegan expert had a number of his oddball readers make comments in support of Lad created Franken-Meats.

PETA has spent massive amounts of money on Franken-Meat research and here is an updated article on this unnatural perverted science-based product which has been created and researched in the city of Göteborg Sweden where I reside presently. The Swedes will be the first guinea pigs to be served this degenerate food.

We always tell our interns and applicants “You get out, what you put in”. If they are dedicated and put in their very best, they will leave here after four months with knowledge that amazes them. If they don’t…well, you know. 🙂

No, it is not at all common for them to leave before the end of September. I believe in all of our years doing this, we’ve only had 3 leave before the scheduled time.

I am currently a pre-med college student and I find it unsatisfying because you don’t help people till after there is a problem. That’s why I’m interested in getting into the farming business because it’s hands on, while actually getting to prevent problems such as cancer and obesity with healthy foods. I was wondering if a degree in agriculture would be helpful or is it something that you just have to go down experience.

I am working towards a transition into self sufficiency and farming. My research brought me to “You Can Farm” and I was sad to discover I am too late to apply for a 2013 internship at Polyface Farms. Do you have any recommendations for other locations on the East Coast to research? Thanks for your time.

Megan, Our farm is looking for an apprentice for the 2013 season. We raise dairy cows, sheep, pigs, broilers, layers and turkeys in a rotational grazing system, and we are also working on a market garden, all in a little village with its own general store and two farm-to-fork restaurants that we serve. Many opportunities for learning abound, including traditional baking, meat curing, vegetable preservation and more. Please email us at info@cozifarms.com.

I’m hesitant to ask what I want to ask, because I’m sure I’ll look like an idiot. But I really want to know… What kind of work do you need to be able to do to be a Polyface intern or apprentice? What kind of physical shape do you need to be in, I mean? I’ve heard Joel talk about how the work is very challenging. I would like to train myself to be strong enough to be able to handle this kind of work. What level of fitness do I need to shoot for? Do I need to be able to run 10 miles? Walk 30? Lift 100lbs? Lift 50lbs a hundred times in a row? How do I know if I’m fit enough to consider applying for this kind of work?